


Night Light

by taztaas (manala)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Asphyxiation, Gen, Pre-Canon, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 09:24:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15167639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manala/pseuds/taztaas
Summary: Taako is sick. But these people arebadand they need to leave.





	Night Light

**Author's Note:**

> So uh, the asphyxiation tag is because of a bit where Lup blocks Taako's breathing in a desperate act to keep him from making noise because they are in a dangerous situation. Just a heads up, in case that's triggering for someone.

Night has fallen when Lup finishes with her chores. Everything takes longer than usual because she’s picking up Taako’s slack. She’s doing the work of two people, or the work of one adult but they’re just two elf kids.

She heads towards her and Taako’s caravan. The grass is dewy and cold under her bare, dirty feet. She can see her breath in the light of their little lantern as she blows on her fingers to warm them. It doesn’t help much.

Lup climbs the slippery wooden steps, lifts the tarp and slips inside. At the very back of the small space they call their own, Taako sleeps on their shared cot - flushed with fever and sweating.

He’s kicked off all his blankets, all the threadbare sheets that Lup had found and piled on top of him that morning. Lup goes to stand next to the bed, stares down at her brother, wipes her runny nose on her tattered sleeve. Taako is panting, a pained frown on his face. His nose is blocked and his throat is so dry and raw that it’s hard for him to breathe.

Taako looks so small; sickly pale, skinny, and exhausted. Lup sniffles, rubs her eyes, but she’s not going to cry. Taako is just so sick, he’s been sick almost a week.

But they need to go.

They need to leave, they need to get away. These people are turning out to be bad and the way they look at the twins makes Lup’s skin itch.

She covers Taako with the blankets again and starts packing. She can only take her own bag because Taako isn’t well enough to carry anything. She ducks under the cot and reaches for the old boot tucked in the furthest corner. She turns it upside down and scoops up the small handful of coins that fall out. She stuffs the money in her little canvas bag that is more like a sack than anything.

She scrounges around the room for foodstuffs and ends up with a slightly wrinkled apple and some crumbly crackers. It’s better than nothing at least. She would’ve stolen something from the kitchen but the cook has been keeping an eye on them both since Taako pilfered some dried dates from the storage to comfort Lup because she was having a bad day.

Lup grabs some spare clothes and other necessities and crams them into the sack as well. She moves back to the entrance of the van and parts the tarp to check that no one’s around. There’s no movement, most members of the troupe are already asleep. They were probably already well on their way to dreamland while Lup was still scrubbing pots and pans. She grabs the lantern and blows the light out as if she’s going to bed.

It’s pitch dark out, which makes it harder to move around even with darkvision, but on the other hand, it makes it easier to hide and that’s what Lup’s counting on. She can’t wait for Taako to get better, they need to go, _now._ Her hopes for Taako’s survival in their current environment aren’t high, she’s convinced that they’ll do better in the woods. At least they’ll be safe. Or, _safer._

She scampers back to the cot and shakes Taako’s shoulder to wake him. She’d prefer to let him sleep but time is of the essence and they need to leave and get as far as possible before they will be missed.

“Lulu?” Taako croaks and Lup shushes him. “We’re leaving,” she says, not bothering to explain further. She doubts that Taako would understand her anyway, in his fever-induced delirium.

Lup coaxes him to his feet and Taako stands, wobbling slightly, eyes hazy and half-open, ears drooping low. She ties one of the blankets on a knot below his chin so that it will stay on his shoulders and provide at least a little bit of cover and warmth. Violent coughs wrack Taako’s body, making him clutch at his chest and bend in half. Lup reaches for some water and shoves a small cup of water into his hands as soon as he’s upright. She straps their waterskin to her bag and throws it on her back. When Taako finishes his drink, she grabs his face, her slightly shaking hands cool on his flushed cheeks.

She looks Taako in the eye, though he isn’t really able to focus his gaze on her.

“We gotta be quiet bro, okay?” she says and brushes sweaty hair off his forehead.

“Okay,” he whispers back and muffles a cough with a handful of blanket.

Lup considers him, almost second guesses herself but no, they need to do it now, before it’s too late. She ties another blanket around herself like a cape and throws one of Taako’s arms over her shoulders.

Lup helps her brother hobble down the steps, all the belongings they can take with them on her back. Taako starts slightly as his feet hit the cold, wet ground and Lup silently curses the fact that they have no shoes to wear.

Luckily Taako is able to support his own weight somewhat, and Lup wishes fiercely that they’ll get far enough to get away before he gets too tired to stand. She’d carry him if she could, but she doesn’t feel like she can do it right now. They would not get far enough, fast enough.

Lup steers them towards the forest immediately, wanting to get away from other people as soon as possible.

They have just reached the storage cart parked at the edge of the woods when the shouting starts.

Lup drops down to the ground immediately and crawls under the cart, dragging Taako with her just in time.

Someone runs over; it’s the cook and one of the guards, luckily they’re both human so they can’t see too well in the dark.

They’re saying something, but Lup doesn’t have time to concentrate and listen because beside her, Taako jerks. Lup’s stomach drops as she realizes that he’s about to be hit with another coughing fit. She turns around quickly to see that the humans are still too close to the cart, they would definitely hear Taako coughing.

Terror mounts inside Lup and as she feels her brother tense, bracing himself, she makes a split second decision and covers Taako’s mouth with her palm.

His eyes widen, staring unseeingly at the bottom of the cart above them. He makes a choked-off sound and Lup remembers that Taako can’t breathe through his nose.

She’s horrified. But she can’t let go. They can’t get caught.

So she looks at her brother, her own eyes wide and terrified, as he runs out of air and starts to claw at her hand. Taako’s eyes are in panicked and brimming with tears.

She grits her teeth, tears falling silently on her own cheeks as she uses her own body weight to hold Taako still and quiet. She knows she’s suffocating him but he has to stay quiet or they’re both dead for sure. He _has_ to.

She can’t look, she closes her eyes, bites her lip to keep from wailing and listens for footsteps, for movement.

Just as she feels Taako go still under her, she hears the cook curse and the men move away. She lets out a sob, unable to help it and scrambles up to properly look at her brother’s face.

Taako’s eyes are closed, his body slack but he breathes, wheezing quietly. He’s unconscious but alive. She didn’t kill him.

Lup slaps her hand on her mouth to keep the desperate noises in. He’s alive. Thank the gods he’s alive.

She checks her surroundings and deems them safe before she crawls out from under the cart. Her dress is damp from the wet earth and she shivers. She reaches for Taako and pulls him out by the wrist, then wraps her arms under his armpits and starts to drag him into the woods.

Soon enough, she spots a hole in the ground; the nest of some animal. By the smell and lack of noise, she concludes that it’s empty and unused, so she shuffles inside, maneuvering Taako to get him in at the same time.

Once they’re both underground and reach the more open space of the nest, she unties the knot on the blanket and takes it off Taako. She takes off her dress and gets the spare one out of the sack, pulling it on. She needs to stay dry so that she won’t get sick too.

“Taako,” she whispers and pats his cheek. He stirs with a groan and Lup slumps with relief. She grabs his hand and squeezes it hard, swallows down the lump in her throat.

“I’m so sorry Taako, I couldn’t let you make noise-”

“‘s okay,” Taako mumbles and squeezes back, his grip weak, but still. “I forgive you.”

“I’m sorry Taako,” she says again, sniffling, wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand. “We gotta get you outta those wet clothes, okay?”

“Okay,” Taako rasps and does his best to help Lup remove his clothes though he’s too weak to do much. Once they get Taako into fresh clothes, Lup helps him drink some water and then they curl up together on Taako’s blanket. He rests his head on Lup’s chest and wraps his arms around her middle. He’s so warm, still.

Lup pulls the other blanket over them both and sets her hands on Taako’s back to feel his breathing.

“I love you Lulu,” Taako mumbles as he falls asleep.

“I love you too Taako,” Lup whispers and lets herself cry in earnest only when she’s sure that Taako has fully fallen asleep. They’re alive. Taako is alive. Lup is going to make sure he stays that way even if it kills her.


End file.
